A disgraced police officer catches a cold case whose political overtones make it red hot. Joe Evers' life has been a mess since his wife died. Drinking made him botch a case, and his boss at the Bureau of Indian Affairs had demanded that he retire in three months when the remains of Congressman Arlen Edgerton's car are found on the Navajo reservation, creating a firestorm of media interest. Edgerton, his secretary, Faye Hannaway, and his driver vanished more than 20 years ago. Now his wife, Grace Edgerton, is running for governor of New Mexico. She's lived down the speculations that her husband ran off with Faye after collecting a bundle of dirty money, but new rumors threaten to sink her campaign. What's left of the car has some bullet holes, and with help from the FBI, Joe, Navajo liaison Officer Bluehorse, and some search dogs find a body hidden nearby in a shallow grave. Tests show that the victim is the driver, leaving it still possible that Edgerton and Faye did run off. Joe tries to hold his life together for the sake of his daughter, a college student. But he finds it hard to quit drinking, and his team at BIA, even his old partner, has lost all trust in him. Because the case has piqued his interest and everyone seems anxious to see him fail, Joe becomes determined to find the truth. When Bluehorse is killed in an ambush meant for Joe, he digs even deeper into a morass of crooked politicians, missing artifacts, wealthy collectors, and police officers on the take. A fine debut from Fortunato, an FBI special agent who knows his way around police work. Plenty of red herrings, dark horses, and quirky characters hold your interest from beginning to end. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In Tony Hillerman Prize-winner Fortunato's strong but overly complicated first novel, Joe Evers, a Bureau of Indian Affairs agent three months away from forced retirement, catches a cold case that will either sink him to a new low or allow him to escape with a high. In 1988, Arlen Edgerton, a New Mexico congressman; his secretary, Faye Hannaway; and their driver disappeared. Now the remains of their car have turned up on the state's Navajo reservation. Besides bringing back rumors of corruption and infidelity, the reopened case threatens several powerful people, including Edgerton's wife, Grace, who's running for governor, and former Navajo Nation president William Tom, who suspects his much younger third wife of sleeping around. Joe manages to annoy them all in the course of his investigation, even as he contends with his hostile boss, Supervisory Special Agent in Charge Dale Warren, who no longer trusts him. Though Joe must navigate too many trails in his quest for the truth, he proves a resourceful hero. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

This is a nice mix of ingredients. The genre standbys are here, plus a few new twists, held together by a deceptively simple prose style. Joe Evers, a special agent with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in New Mexico, is a boozy screwup given one last assignment before he limps into retirement: investigate the disappearance of a U.S. congressman 20 years ago. This occasions the introduction of a fine, quirky cast, including a psychopathic art collector and a senator who may not be what he seems. Plus an assortment of crooks and cops. It's one of the latter, a tyro Navajo lawman, who gives the novel an unexpected emotional depth. He likely wishes he'd never met Joe, who really is a screwup but a gifted one, at least when describing beer. The bubbles rise to the top, he notes, joining their brethren in an orgy of effervescent bliss. For those who like quirky crime novels starring offbeat protagonists (Matthew McBride's Frank Sinatra in a Blender, 2012), this one's a must.--Crinklaw, Don Copyright 2015 Booklist

Set in the Southwest, this debut mystery and winner of the Tony -Hillerman Prize follows Bureau of Indian Affairs Special Agent Joe Evers, who is investigating what he thinks will be his final case before his forced retirement. When he's partnered with Navajo Tribal Officer Randal -Bluehorse, they investigate the case of missing Congressman Arden Edgerton, who disappeared 20 years ago. His bullet-riddled car has turned up on the reservation, and Evers and Bluehorse are left to unlock the mystery. Following the clues, they find links to the black market trade in Native American artifacts. Solving the case requires strength and fortitude from Evers, who must face down demons from both his past and present life. VERDICT -Fortunato spins an intricate tale, overlaying multiple story lines with a galaxy of characters, some of whom have much to hide. Readers who relish mysteries against the backdrop of the Southwest and who are fans of Tony and Anne Hillerman will savor this page-turner.-Patricia Ann Owens, formerly with Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.